Coffee whiteners have traditionally been of the liquid or powder type. In some years, coffee whiteners have also been marketed in the frozen state which some success, particularly in view of public acceptance accorded to frozen foods for their convenience in handling and storage.
A typical coffee whitener formulation is described in the Journal of American Oil Chemical Society, 46, J. H. Hetrick, 1969, having the following composition:
______________________________________ Vegetable fat 10-12% Corn syrup solids 8-10% Sodium caseinate 1-1.5% Emulsifier 0.2-1.0% Buffer 0.1-0.5% Stabilizer 0.02-0.5% ______________________________________
the remainder being water. A spray dried formulation is essentially the same except that no stabilizer is required. With water removed, the fat content is about 35-50% with the relative proportions of other ingredients being about the same.
In the above formulation, the buffer systems are added to prevent "feathering" of the protein when added to hot tea or coffee. The buffers are usually dipotassium phosphate, disodium phosphate, or sodium citrate.
In the preparation of coffee whiteners, it has been considered important to use a fat or oil which is bland or neutral in flavor and has, particularly for a spray dried product, long-term stability against oxidation and the development of rancidity. For this purpose, fats which are highly saturated have been preferred. The prior art has also felt that the fat must have a sufficiently high solids content at temperatures usually encountered in storage and ordinary handling, in the case of spray dried products, for the fat to remain in a solid state during storage and handling; Food Technology, 23, W. H. Knightly, 1969. At the same time, the solids content of the fat should be sufficiently low to avoid leaving a waxy mouth-feel when used with hot beverages.
To meet these criteria, particularly for spray dried whiteners, it has been conventional practice to employ hydrogenated lauric-containing fats which are solid at room temperature, for instance a coconut oil having about 48.5% lauric acid content an IV of about 4 max. and a Wiley Melting Point of about 92.degree.-114.degree. F.
One problem is that the fats, being solid at ordinary room temperatures, must be heated and made molten for addition to the rest of the coffee whitener formulation during manufacture, requiring the expenditure of energy. In addition, about half of the typical coffee whitener formulation, not including water, is vegetable fat. Whitening occurs as a result of light being reflected from the surface of the finely divided fat globules, and it has been determined that 35-50% is approximately the optimum amount of fat necessary to obtain the desired whitening power. This is the case whether the formulation is for a spray dried product or a conventional liquid or freeze-thaw stable coffee whitener formulation.
It is known to use partially hydrogenated domestic oils, for instance soybean, cottonseed and peanut oil, as the lipid system for fluid or frozen coffee whiteners. Such oils are desirable because of their polyunsaturated dietary feature. Because they are refrigerated or frozen, limited shelf life is not as much of a problem. Also, the use of such oils provide processing flexibility, particularly in that they are readily metered in admixture with the remaining ingredients of the coffee whitener formulation.
Still, with spray dried formulations, it has been conventional practice to use a lauric-containing fat, such as coconut oil, for stability and bland taste.
Prior U.S. Pat. No. 3,935,325, issued to Cecilia Gilmore and Donald E. Miller and assigned to assignee of the present application, describes a liquid pareve coffee whitener composition which is characterized by being stable to phase breakdowns on repeated freeze-thaw cycles, without loss of whitening power. The coffee whitener of said prior patent comprises a normally aqueous emulsion of vegetable fat, vegetable protein, carbohydrate, stabilizer and emulsifier, the latter comprising a monoglyceride, a partial fatty acid ester of hexitol, an ethoxylated partial fatty acid ester of hexitol and stearoyl-2-lactylic acid. The teachings of prior U.S. Pat. No. 3,935,325 are incorporated by reference herein.